This week, we received a lot of information from the District Office.
On Monday morning, Paul Robinson (NO-Reply) sent us two emails about technology in the classroom.
There was also an important Board meeting on Tuesday night.
Then, John Davis sent us an email on Thursday morning with information about the second semester.
And most recently, Antonio Garcia sent us a video on Thursday evening.
I have received some questions about the information we have received, and I would like to clarify some things at this time.
1) We will start the second semester in a Distance Learning Model with the same schedule we are currently using. The first week back, however, will look a little different.
Monday, January 11: Professional Development Day
Tuesday, January 12: Teacher Work Day (No, we did not give up our teacher workday)
Wednesday, January 13: Periods 1-7 (Our current Monday schedule)
Thursday, January 14: Periods 1-4
Friday, January 15: Periods 5-7
There will be no Flex Monday on January 18 or February 15 due to holidays, and I would imagine there could be adjustments to the week of February 8 and March 29 due to holidays on Friday of those weeks.
2) We will be teaching via Distance Learning in January and February as the Board has decided that the earliest we will come back in the classroom would be March 1, 2021. This does not mean that we will for sure be back in the classroom on March 1. The District will re-evaluate the situation in January and February and make a decision about our return accordingly.
3) If we do come back into the classroom during the second semester, it will be on a 50% Hybrid model. The District will use the old Alpha Split schedule for our Hybrid model. During Hybrid teaching, we must still have daily contact with all of our students. The District has purchased cameras for teachers who would like to teach in person and Zoom at the same time (Model A: Simulcast). However, it is up to you if you choose to utilize this model and have the camera in your classroom. The other option (Model B: Room/Zoom) would not have a camera in our classrooms but still allow us to meet the requirements of Daily Live Interaction via Zoom.
If you have further questions, you can probably find the answers in the documents below:
School Board Agenda – School Board Meeting on YouTube
SMJUHSD Reopening Plan Spring 2021
Antonio Garcia Video – Password: education
Have a well-deserved and restful break.
Merry Christmas!
Matt Provost